Meanings
noundot ball (plural dot balls)
plural dot balls
- ball gamesA ball off which no runs are scored.
There were five dot balls in the first over, bowled by seamer Matt Henry, and only five runs in the second, off Glenn Phillips' part-time spin.
2026 March 8, Matthew Henry, “Superb India crush New Zealand to defend T20 title”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2026
Origin
Such a ball is recorded in the scorebook using a dot.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
dot ball. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20ball
MLA
“dot ball.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20ball. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dot ball,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dot%20ball.
Source: dot ball on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.